DHS "Shutdown"

Since the DHS is in the news (as Congress yet again sets itself for egg on its face) Foreign Policy magazine published a pretty good article questioning if there is a need for the Department of Homeland Security at all.I don't know the answer- I do know that as a department it has a pretty well deserved reputation of spending money like a drunken saillor in the past which certainly undermines their credibility now. I don't agree with congress going to the "shutdown" well yet again in their on-going war with the President (I agree with their objection to Obama's Executive action- but by now one would think that they would have learned that shut downs are seriously counterproductive politically> Congress being Congress- they never seem to learn anything though so it seems like another "here we go again).
Maybe the article has a point and the real debate should be about whether or not we are better served/ more secure by having a behemoth Federal agency like DHS?

DHS is a miserable place. The individual agencies aren't going anywhere, but DHS has been mismanaged for years. In my experience, it got worse with Obama political appointees, so maybe that will change in two years.

DHS never really got its own identity, so it tried to force a "One DHS" mindset on the component agencies. That hasn't gone over well.

Could the U.S. do without DHS? Sure! But figure out where to put the Coast Guard, Secret Service, CBP, ICE, USCIS, TSA etc.

Some, like CBP (combining Customs and Border Patrol), existed in parts before, with components coming from different departments. ICE is the same way, from Customs and INS. Then USCIS... was maybe INS and something else, I'm not sure. TSA was new.

I am having a problem pulling the article up on my tablet, but here is my question. If they shutdown DHS what is the direct impact for the CGA? Will it be like USNA/USMA/USAFA during sequestration and school keeps going?

In the past people were either "essential" or "nonessential". The essentials were mostly uniformed. If they weren't paid they were still expected to be there, and work. Of course, the longer that goes, good luck enforcing that. Everyone else was sent home. I honestly have no idea what's specifically involved. Shut downs are bigger and have more impact that sequestration.